Do you really know?

All romantic relationships come with challenges, and one of the biggest hurdles tends to be fidelity. Over the years, there have been a number of studies on the prevalence of cheating, but it’s tricky to know how reliable data from those studies is. After all, it relies on people owning up to unfaithful behaviour. Generally speaking though, surveys from the likes of YouGov have suggested that arou...

Welcome to Do You Really Know! If you’re listening to this show, you're no doubt a keen learner and explorer. We bet you’ll love Fabulous Destinies, another Bababam podcast, which takes you on a journey through real-life stories which are incredible but true. Starting from tomorrow and exclusively on Do You Really Know, we'll be sharing our listeners' four favourite Fabulous Destinies episodes! So...

These tiny insects, which reproduce at an astonishing rate, often invade our kitchens. They are particularly attracted to damp areas, stagnant water, organic waste, and ripe fruit—especially in warm weather. Fruit flies, or midges, can lay up to 100 eggs a day. While studies indicate that flies can carry bacteria, viruses, and parasites, the midges in our homes are generally harmless. They can tra...

It may come as a surprise, but for some, summer isn’t always a time for rest and recharging. Quite the opposite, in fact. This phenomenon, known as “mid-year crisis” or “summer burnout,” is a type of seasonal depression that occurs during the summer months. According to The Guardian newspaper, symptoms include drowsiness, lack of appetite, decreased libido and energy, and a general feeling of bein...

The start of any school year is always an emotionally charged time, whether you’re a child or an adult. But as a parent that excitement can quickly turn into stress and anxiety when money is tight.  In July 2024, retail marketing consultancy Gekko reported that UK parents were set to shell out an average of £452.40 per child on back-to-school supplies, which combined adds up to a whopping £2.3 bil...

Job interviews have always been a daunting prospect for a number of reasons. And the process is only getting more time-consuming for candidates, without offering increased chances of success. According to a June 2023 report from the Josh Bersin Company and AMS, the average recruitment process now take a whopping 44 days. As if all this isn’t demanding enough, interviewers like to throw in the occa...

We've all been there, haven't we? That moment when a holiday comes to a close and the reality of everyday life sets in. The post-holiday blues, that feeling of melancholy after returning from a relaxing escape, can cast a shadow on our moods. According to a 2017 articles from Mirror.co.uk, 57% of Brits are affected. Many of you may be experiencing these blues right now, so today we’re exploring ju...

In the period from 2018 to 2020, the life expectancy at birth for women in the UK was 82.9 years, while it was just 79 for men. That’s according to data from the Office of National Statistics. And that disparity is a common trend across various countries and even among certain other species of mammals, like great apes. There certainly are, and they span both biological and behavioral factors. Dr....

What do chicken nuggets, margarine and instant noodles all have in common? Well, they may look tasty, but they’re loaded with sugar, salt, fat and chemicals that strip away their nutritional value. That’s due to the heavy processing that goes into making them, which sees them completely transformed from the original raw ingredients.  And they’re increasingly ever present on our shelves and in our...

Interviewed by Harper's Bazaar in June 2022, US First Lady Jill Biden admitted to arguing over text with her husband. She said it’s been a good way for them to settle disagreements, away from the ears of secret service agents and everyone around them. Arguing by text is also known as fexting, which is a contraction of fighting and texting. Of course, it isn’t only the President and his wife who fe...

It’s worth bearing in mind that overtourism has become a real nuisance. As tourists, it’s not exactly fun being in a highly overcrowded area, but it’s even worse for the natural environment. Could tourism quotas be one way of addressing the problems? In mid-June 2022, the island of Corsica brought in quotas for three iconic sites: the Bavella needles, the Restonica valley and the Lavezzi islands....

You might or might not  be surprised to learn that warm weather naturally enhances the libido. According to a 2022 survey by the Kinsey Institute, 60% of Americans report that spring is the season when they most want to get under the duvet with their partner.  It all comes down to hormones. Light and warmth naturally stimulates our serotonin production, a mood-enhancing chemical. Additionally, it...

According to a World Meteorological Organisation report from May 2023, it’s now more likely than not that global temperatures will surpass the key milestone of 1.5°C warming. This is of course down to human-related greenhouse gas emissions, as well as the El Nino weather phenomenon in the Pacific Ocean, which was confirmed to have started as of early June. Of course the long term impact of such wa...

There are a number of possible reasons why people don’t manage to save as much money as they would like. For example: paying for things with a credit card can make you forget how much you’ve spent, or you simply don’t earn enough to save in the first place. You might feel like money saving methods simply won’t ever work for you. But let's go back to basics. A simple Japanese technique called “kake...

You’ve most likely heard of this plant before, and seen one if you were lucky! Maybe you’ve even tried to find one in a field or a garden. The four leaf clover is without doubt one of the most popular and fascinating symbols of luck. A four leaf clover is a clover plant that has four leaves instead of the usual three. A clover plant is a type of herb that belongs to the pea family. It has small fl...

Whether you’re going on a beach holiday, city break or camping trip, the chances are you’ll be soaking up the sun’s rays. Sunshine activates vitamin D production in the body, which has numerous benefits like protecting us from disease and improving mental health. But on the other hand, being exposed for too long can accelerate skin ageing. Excessive UV can even lead to skin cancer. According to th...

Ever since social media came along, dating trends have evolved constantly. They tend to reflect changes in society too. In previous episodes of Do You Really Know, we’ve talked about dawn dating, sneating and ghosting for example. There are so many different terms out there, and not all of them are positive. Here’s another one you may have heard of recently, in particular if you’re single and use...

For women, wearing a bra to support their breasts may seem vital from puberty onwards. However, it’s claimed that bras may in fact be useless or even dangerous, which has led some to promote the No Bra movement. It has been linked to feminism, and isn’t universally accepted or popular.  Bras were invented at the end of the 19th century, gradually replacing corsets and revolutionising women’s daily...

In the last few weeks, a thick and foul-smelling foam known as mucilage has appeared in the Marmara Sea on Turkey’s northwestern coast. It’s been unofficially dubbed sea snot by observers, which might sound like a name invented on a school playground. But there’s nothing funny about the environmental impact of this outbreak, which is a result of global warming and pollution. How does this sea snot...

If you're not up to date with your vaccinations, it might just be time to schedule an appointment with your doctor! When it comes to the diseases we’re going to be talking about today, you could be forgiven for thinking they were a thing of the past, consigned to history.  But believe it or not, some of them are making a comeback in the 21st century. Their resurgence can be partly explained by a f...

Charles Darwin once wrote that “Ignorance more frequently begets confidence than does knowledge”, and real-life situations which reflect that are all too common. To cite just one prominent example, in January 1995, American men MacArthur Wheeler and Clifton Earl Johnson were arrested after carrying out coordinated bank robberies in the state of Pennsylvania. Incredibly, they didn’t bother wearing...

The Olympic Games are known for their records, unforgettable stars, and moments that will forever be remembered. But (because there’s always a but), they’ve also hosted some truly bizarre events. These oddities, which did little to enhance the Games’ reputation, have largely been forgotten by history. We’re here to remind you of them in this episode! Let’s start with the 1900 Games in Paris, which...

The World Health Organisation suggests that 18° C is the perfect temperature to set your heating to, but in reality that is just an average. There are a number of variables to take into account.  For example, certain rooms might need to be heated more than others. And generally speaking, when we’re away from home or sleeping at night we can turn the heating down or off completely. That’s right, it...

It may seem surprising that French is the official language of the Olympic Games, given that it’s ‘only’ the 5th most spoken language in the world. According to a report by the International Francophone Organisation in 2022, there are an estimated 321 million French speakers in the world, putting it behind Spanish, Hindi, Mandarin, and English. Nevertheless, the French language has played a signif...

Paris is hosting the Olympics for the first time in a century, which is a reminder of just how long the modern Games have been running. Since their inception in Athens back in 1896, we’ve seen many strange records, which fans and pundits love to talk about every four years. Let’s run through some of the quirkiest!  The early 20th century Games must have been very different to the Olympics we know...